DEADWOOD, DAKOTA TERRITORIES, 1876: Legendary gunman Wild Bill Hickcock and his friend Charlie Utter have come to the Black Hills town of Deadwood fresh from Cheyenne, fleeing an ungrateful populace. Bill, aging and sick but still able to best any man in a fair gunfight, just wants to be left alone to drink and play cards. But in this town of played-out miners, bounty hunters, upstairs girls, Chinese immigrants, and various other entrepeneurs and miscreants, he finds himself pursued by a vicious sheriff, a perverse whore man bent on revenge, and a besotted Calamity Jane. Fueled by liquor, sex, and violence, this is the real wild west, unlike anything portrayed in the dime novels that first told its story.

Outlaw Caleb Ollinger has no idea how much outrage he will stir after stopping off in the New Mexico town of Carrizozo. A few drinks and a game of poker suddenly turn into a double killing - the gambler who has been caught cheating matters little - but an innocent boy plowed down by Ollinger was the son of New Mexico's territorial governor. Bounty hunter Chance Newcombe is hired to bring the killer in, but the loner has an ulterior motive. Chance attempts to lure Caleb's brother, Pake, into the picture, under the pretense that they will be rescuing the wayward kid. Chance comes across an old comrade at a relay station is also after Caleb, so as to secure an amnesty granted by the governor which wipes out his past crimes. Bullets are bound to fly when the disparate protagonists finally meet up at the Hanging Tree.

Louis L'Amour is recognized the world over as one of the most prolific and popular American authors. While every one of his 89 novels is still in print, a lesser known fact is that L'Amour is also one of the all-time bestselling authors of short fiction. This volume features 35 action-packed frontier stories.

**WESTERN WRITERS OF AMERICA 2019 SPUR AWARDS WINNER!** "[A] first-rate novel."-True West magazine "Smith has written tight, fast-paced novels his entire career...and reading one is like riding a thoroughbred."--The Chronicle Herald In the style of Cormac McCarthy, a gritty tale of justice and revenge in the Wild West. The year is 1910. Nate Cooper is an old-school cowboy. He sees the change brought by the turn of the century-horses giving way to motorcars, his girlfriend marrying his best friend, and his nemesis running for governor-and reckons none of it to be good. The west is being tamed, and with progress, some things are lost. But people? They tend to stay the same. Even after spending nearly thirty years in a Montana prison for a wrongful murder conviction, Nate's moral compass is true and unwavering: he does all the wrong things for all the right reasons. So when he returns to his Northern Montana ranching town to find the Blackfoot Indians-the people he went to prison trying to defend-are still being cheated out of their territory by ranchers, Nate can't rest on his laurels. With grit, determination, a quick trigger finger, and the help of the woman he used to love, Nate sets out to settle the score and force some justice in into the changing world. Before long, though, he'll discover that justice doesn't come cheap.

A wrongly accused man fights to regain ownership of his ranch, while another tracks down an imposter who has stolen his identity. In "When a Gunman Steals a War," Tom Fortune, who has been sentenced to twenty years in prison because of bravery during a penitentiary fire and the flimsy evidence that convicted him in the first place, is paroled. He is reminded by the warden that he cannot violate his parole, or he will be forced to serve the remaining seventeen years. Fortune returns to Sundown country and the XO Ranch, of which he was half owner, only to find that Sheriff Bent Hooker and his two brothers now own the XO. Can Fortune fight for his rights against the Hookers when he cannot, as a condition of his parole, even use a gun? The title piece, "Travis," tells the story of Roger Travis who returns from Central America, where he had nearly died. Landing in San Francisco, Travis tries to draw money against a certificate of deposit at the South Bay Bank, only to learn that his account has been cleaned out by another person named Roger Travis, and that the bank was instrumental in processing a substantial inheritance for him. The banker is convinced that the real Roger Travis is a fraud and wants him arrested. In a desperate ploy, Travis escapes. He knows that the imposter is somewhere in New Mexico Territory, and he intends to give pursuit. What he doesn't know is how Roger Travis has won himself stature in the community with prudent investments he has half ownership of a ranch, and a number of dangerous and unscrupulous men working for him. This Roger Travis believes the real Roger Travis is dead. When he finds out the truth, he knows that there is only one way to deal with the problem . . . Skyhorse Publishing is proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction that takes place in the old West. Westerns books about outlaws, sheriffs, chiefs and warriors, cowboys and Indians are a genre in which we publish regularly. Our list includes international bestselling authors like Zane Gray and Louis L'Amour, and many more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

A fist fight, a mysterious letter, and a dangerous pursuit come together in a thrilling Western tale. It all begins with a brutal fight between Jake Barry and Ted Wayne. Jake Barry, the instigator, demands gun play, but Ted Wayne refuses and settles the matter with his fists. The beating humiliates Jake Barry and he vows to get even, this time with guns. Ted doesn't even know why there had to be a fight at all. Ted's girl, Polly Arnold, witnesses the fight and starts to have mixed feelings about Ted. Ed Wayne, Ted's father and owner of the affluent Whippoorwill ranch, refuses to listen to his son's account of the affair. As far as Ed is concerned, this is just another in a string of scrapes his son has been in, which are damaging his son's chances of ever taking over ownership of the Whippoorwill. In an effort to see Ted redeem himself, Ed sends his son on a secret mission to the tough town of Rainbow to locate one Jim Hunter. To help Ted in this quest, his father gives him two letters of introduction, one to Miles Henseler, owner of The Three Colors, a gambling resort in Rainbow, and the other to a Mortimer G. Webb. At The Three Colors, Ted delivers his letter to Henseler, the contents of which he knows nothing about. Henseler gives Ted cryptic advice: go to bed and leave the rest to him. When a somewhat disappointed Ted reaches his hotel, a man that fits the description of Jim Hunter quickly eludes him. It is the beginning of what will prove to be a very dangerous pursuit. . . . Skyhorse Publishing is proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction that takes place in the old West. Westerns books about outlaws, sheriffs, chiefs and warriors, cowboys and Indians are a genre in which we publish regularly. Our list includes international bestselling authors like Zane Gray and Louis L'Amour, and many more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Aged 65 Emmett Dalton is the last survivor of the legendary Dalton gang, now he lives off his memories in Hollywood. Combining fact and fiction Ron Hansen depicts the outlaw past of the Daltons and the West they travelled. The Daltons brothers turn from being peace officers in the Indian territories to a life of rustling. When their leader, Bob, meets Eugenia Moore, a schoolteacher who begins to plan their robberies, they become the most notorious outlaws of their time. As their raids, on trains and banks, become more daring and successful the price on their heads and the pursuit of the law increase. Then they ride into Coffeyville, intending to rob both the town's banks. Ron Hansen was the first writer to approach the mythology of the West with the intent of rewriting history, to show the mixed motives and dubious intentions of heroes and outlaws alike. In Hansen's carefully styled authentic voice (drawing on contemporary newspapers and accounts) his novels would pave the way for Cormac McCarthy's Border trilogy. Combining historical research with his novelist's imagination and ability to evoke character, Ron Hansen rewrites the history of the American West, and revises the romanticised mythology of violence created by Hollywood.

A masked predator is stalking the small town of Oakridge. Known only as The Phantom, he strikes at night, attacking sleeping couples in their beds, raping and murdering with impunity. Despite the best efforts of the local deputy, he manages to elude capture, and finally former marshal Ed Burton is brought in to assist the investigation. Burton is an experienced lawman, having solved many murder cases before his retirement, but never before has he stalked a predator as dangerous as this one. Working closely with Deputy Maynard Blayloch, he becomes obsessed with his quarry, and soon they close in on a suspect. But nothing is what it seems, and suddenly Burton finds himself the target of The Phantom. Based upon a true story, Deception Creek is a tale of terror and justice in the Old West.

__________________ 'Deeply, deeply disturbing' STEPHEN KING Shortlisted for the 2018 Bram Stoker Awards for Best Horror Novel ____________________ After having travelled west for weeks, the party of pioneers comes to a crossroads. It is time for their leader, George Donner, to make a choice. They face two diverging paths which lead to the same destination. One is well-documented - the other untested, but rumoured to be shorter. Donner's decision will shape the lives of everyone travelling with him. The searing heat of the desert gives way to biting winds and a bitter cold that freezes the cattle where they stand. Driven to the brink of madness, the ill-fated group struggles to survive and minor disagreements turn into violent confrontations. Then the children begin to disappear. As the survivors turn against each other, a few begin to realise that the threat they face reaches beyond the fury of the natural elements, to something more primal and far more deadly. Based on the true story of The Donner Party, The Hunger is an eerie, shiver-inducing exploration of human nature, pushed to its breaking point.

In 1886, Gretta Pope wakes one morning to discover that her husband is gone. Ulysses Pope has left his family behind on the far edge of Minnesota's western prairie, with only the briefest of notes and no explanation for why he left or where he's headed. It doesn't take long for Gretta's young sons, Eli and Danny, to set off after him, following the scant clues they can find, jumping trains to get where they need to go, and ending up in the rugged badlands of Montana.
Short on money and beleaguered by a treacherous landlord, Gretta has no choice but to seek out her sons and her husband as well, leading her to the doorstep of a woman who seems intent on making Ulysses her own. While out in the Western wilderness, the boys find that the closer they come to Ulysses's trail, the greater the perils that confront them--until each is faced with a choice about whom they will defend, and who they will become. Enger's breathtaking portrait of the vast plains land- scape is matched by the rich expanse of his characters' emotional terrain, as pivotal historical events--the bloody turmoil of expansionism, the near total demise of the bison herds, and the subjugation of the Plains Indians--blend seamlessly with the intimate story of a family's sacrifice and devotion.

Sin was a profitable commodity in a mining town like Motherlode. Lust made money for the madam, wrath and avarice created targets for the manhunter, and the newspaperman was greedy for stories. 'He had no right to take you against your will.' When a prostitute is raped during the robbery of the Motherlode stage, Jonah Durrell seems to be the only man who cares. The handsome manhunter can never resist a damsel in distress. He is determined to get justice for Miss Jenny's girl, and recruits Robinson, an enthusiastic newspaperman who witnessed the attack. The women are not meek and passive though. They are willing to take matters, and guns, into their own hands to survive in a tough world. Together, with Durrell and Robinson, they begin to uncover the layers of lust, avarice and envy in town, bringing down the wrath of their enemies. Can the women of sin get the justice they deserve?

A dying man, Peter Barker asks Sheriff Quigley to deliver a message to his family. Quigley does so, only to find himself the target of range baron Huston McRae, who controls everything in Gila County, including the local sheriff, and doesn't want an outsider nosing around in his affairs. And above all, he doesn't want Quigley helping Noreen Barker, Peter Barker's widow. When McRae's attempted intimidation of Quigley fails, he orders him killed. Quigley sends for his deputy, Murray Fishbourne, and together they take on the local sheriff and the gunslingers McRae sends after them. But as the fighting intensifies, can Quigley and Murray survive?